Apparatus for collecting and disintegrating clusters of material



United States Patent Inventor Jagmohan Batra Calumet Park, 111. App]. No. 713,364 Filed March 15, 1968 Patented Dec. 15, 1970 Assignee General Mills, Inc.

a corporation of Delaware APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING AND DISINTEGRATING CLUSTERS OF MATERIAL 9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 146/222,

146/76: 241/86, 241/89 Int. Cl B02c 13/06 Field of Search 146/76,

CEREAL fi e COOKER [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,170,643 2/1965 Hanse et a1. 241/187X 3,154,622 10/1964 Reinfeld et a1 241/89X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,033,491 7/1958 Germany 241/187 Primary E.\'aminer-William S. Lawson Assistant Examiner-Z. R. Bilinsky Attorneys-Anthony A. Juettner, William C. Babcock and L.

MeRoy Lillehaugen ABSTRACT: An apparatus and process for collecting clusters of loosely bound particles from a mass of material, disintegrating at least some of the clusters into individual pieces, and removing those clusters whose weight and/or texture exceeds prescribed requirements.

ROLLS PATENTED DEE] 51970 SHEET 1 0F 2 DRIER FIG. I 1 {2 ZBWLROLLS INVENTOR. JAGMOHAN BATRA BY CMQ ML M ATTORNEY PATENTED 0501 51970 SHEET 2 BF 2 FIG. 2

ATTORNEY APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING AND DISINTEGRATING CLUSTERS F MATERIAL The present invention relates to an apparatus for disintegrating clusters of particles, and more specifically to an apparatus for collecting particles and clusters of particles having a size above a predetermined maximum from a mass of material, breaking up at least some of the clusters, and removing certain clusters for further disposition.

Various kinds and types of ready-to-eat food products are produced by forming individual pieces out of a dough material, and thereafter further processing the pieces to form the ready-to-eat product. Typical products of this type are the ready-to-eat breakfast cereals and the ready-to-eat snack products, both formed in various shapes, sizes, compositions, textures, and flavors. in many instances the product when formed into a desired shape, has a high moisture level and it is often quite sticky or tacky; consequently, the pieces must be dried to a prescribed moisture level after they have been formed. Additional processing steps might then be performed if desired. in some instances the drying step is accomplished by drying the product at room temperature for a prescribed period of time. Usually however, appropriate driers are used in which the pieces are permitted to contact, or commingle with, each other during the drying step.

in many instances the moist, somewhat sticky, individual pieces or particles tend to stick to each other, especially while in the drier. As a result, undesirable, somewhat loosely bound clusters are formed, which are comprised of a plurality of individual pieces. Clusters of this type must be removed from the mass of material before the material is packaged for subsequent consumer consumption, in order to avoid undesirable lumps or clusters in the package and thus poor product appeal to the consumer. These clusters are usually removed and disposed of by appropriate means as waste material. To the best of applicants knowledge, no devices are available for collecting and disintegrating all or part of the clusters so that they might be packaged along with the rest of the product, thus minimizing the amount of waste. 7

Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for disintegrating clusters of particles.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for collecting clusters of particles from a mass of material and reducing the size of at least some of the clusters.

A further object is to provide an apparatus for separating and collecting clusters of particles from a mass of material, breaking up at least some of the clusters into individual pieces, and removing unusually large and/or heavy clusters from the mass, for further disposition.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and drawings. Before proceeding with a detailed description of the invention however, a brief description of it will be presented.

in general, the apparatus includes an inclined grate or screen having a front and a back edge, and a plurality of openings therein. The grate is pivotable about a horizontal axis, and it is positioned proximate the discharge end of an apparatus such as a drier, so that material discharged from the apparatus is deposited on the front portion of the grate. Particles of material having a size below a prescribed maximum pass through the openings onto appropriate collection means, while particles and clusters of particles larger than the prescribed size of the openings, are retained on the grate. The oversized particles slide down the inclined grate toward a rotatably mounted beater or cutter assembly positioned above the grate. All or part of the clusters when engaged by the beater disintegrate and pass through the grate. The grate is provided with a counterweight arrangement on its back edge, which maintains the grate in a prescribed inclined position. but which permits the grate to pivot under certain circumstances. By pivoting the grate, certain clusters are permitted to slide beneath the beater assembly, and are then discharged from the back edge of the grate.

The invention will best be understood by reference to the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view of a process for produc ing cereal grain products;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial side elevational view in section, illustrating the invention in a first operating position;

FIG. 3 shows the invention in a second operating condition; and

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view illustrating the apparatus depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3.

H6. 1 illustrates a typical process for forming a flaked ready-tocat cereal product from a cooked cereal dough. At this point, it should be emphasized that the process and equipment utilized is not significant as to the present invention, because the invention can be readily used with various types of equipment in conjunction with the formation of a number of products which might vary as to shape, size, and texture. The cereal grain employed to form the flaked cereal might be of any suitable character, such as rice, wheat, oats, corn, rye, barley or any combination of two or more of these grains. The above grain(s) are ground into a flour and mixed with other ingredients to form a dry cereal mix.

The dry mix is fed together with a predetermined amount of water into a conventional cooker if), such as a batch or continuous cooker, to form a gelatinized or partly gelatinized dough. After cooking for a prescribed period of time, the dough, having a moisture content of perhaps 25-35 percent, is introduced into an extruder 12 where it is formed into a rope 14 by forcing it through an extruder orifice or nozzle 16. The rope i4 is conveyed to a cutting station 18 at which point it is sliced into pellets 20 of desired thickness by a cutting mechanism 22. if desired of course, the dough material might be formed into a sheet of prescribed thickness, and then cut into pellets of prescribed shape and size. The pellets 20 which have a moisture content ranging from about 25-35 percent, are then dried in a drier 24 so that their moisture content is reduced to about l520 percent, after which they are flat tened into thin flakes 26 by passing them through a pair of counterrotating rotating flaking rolls 28. The moisture content of the flakes 26 is then reduced to about l-3 percent, by drying them in another drier 30. The dried flakes 26 are then conveyed to an appropriate storage area, or immediately packaged for consumer use.

For purposes of illustration, the present invention will be described in conjunction with the drier apparatus 30, although it must be realized that it could also be used in conjunction with other types of equipment as well.

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate the invention as forming a part of the overall drier assembly 30. As shown, the drier 30 houses a movable metallic belt 32 which conveys the mass of material comprised of the flakes 26, through the apparatus from an inlet end to a discharge end portion designated generally by numeral 34. A heat source (not shown) is provided for heating the interior of the drier 30 and reducing the moisture level of the flakes. The drier 30 is provided with a top portion 36, a bottom portion 38, and a pair of sidewalls 40. The end portion 34 is provided with an inclined top surface 42 which is secured to the drier top 36 by appropriate means, a bottom portion 44, and a pair of sidewalls 46. The top surface 42 is provided with a door 48 which is hingedly connected to the surface 42, for providing access into the end 34. Part of the bottom portion 44 is shaped so as to form a first hopper 50 having an opening 52 out of which certain particles of material can be discharged, and a second hopper 54 having an opening 56 out of which particles can likewise be removed.

The apparatus for separating and collecting particles or flakes, and clusters of particles or flakes, from the mass of material discharged from the drier 30, and reducing the size of at least some of the clusters is designated generally by reference numeral 60. Generally. the apparatus 60 includes a grate or screen member 62 and a heater or cutter assembly 39. The grate 62 is formed of a plurality of elongate, spacedapart rods or bars 64, which are maintained in spaced-apart relationship by a first cross member 66 secured to the front edge of the grate, and a second cross member 68 secured to the back edge of the grate. As illustrated in FlG. 2, the grate 62 is mounted within the end portion 34 so that it is inclined with '15 respect to a horizontal plane; its front edge being higher than f ,its back edge. As shown specifically in FIG. 4, the longitudinal axis of each rod extends from the front edge of the grate to the The grate 62 is mounted for pivotal movement about the axis of a horizontal shaft 70, by appropriate mounting brackets 72 secured to at least some of the rods 64. The ends "of the shaft 70 are mounted in the sidewalls 46 by appropriate 'ineans. Either the shaft 70 should be rotatably mounted relative to the walls 46, or the brackets 72 should be free to pivot "relative to the shaft. As shown, the pivotal axis is nearer to the back edge of the grate 62 than the front edge so that the front :"portion of the grate is normally heavier than the back portion. A pair of vertically adjustable brackets 74 and 76 are mounted bn each of the sidewalls 46, for limiting the degree of pivotal f movement of the grate about the axis of shaft 70. Stop mem .ibers 78 secured to the grate 62, abut against the brackets 74 and 76 under appropriate operating conditions. 1: 1 The elongate beater or cutter assembly 80 is positioned l above the grate 62 and it is mounted for rotational movement about a horizontal axis. The beater assembly includes an elonjgate shaft 82 which is rotatably mounted at its ends in the ,s idewalls 46, by means of appropriate bearings, and it is {caused to rotate about its longitudinal axis by a motor 84 .pperatively connected to the shaft by an appropriate belt and ;gear arrangement 86. As shown, the shaft 82 is parallel to the :shaft 70, and its longitudinal axis is normal to the longitudinal axis of the rods 64. A plurality of fingers '88 are fixedly at- ;.tached to the shaft 82 so that they project radially away from the shaft axis. As shown in FIG. 4, the fingers are mounted in groups of four around the periphery of the shaft; it should be Qrecognized of course, that more or less fingers might be ineluded in each grouping if desired. The fingers are arranged with respect to the rods 64 so that each group of fingers passes between adjacent rods, as the beater assembly rotates about its axis. The beater assembly 80 is positioned between the from edge of the grate 62 and the pivot point defined by shaft A counterweight assembly 90 is attached to the back edge -of the grate for maintaining the grate inlan inclined position. .As shown, a single counterweight 92 is threadedly mounted on :a;rod 94 which in turn is attached to the cross piece 68; addi- :tional counterweights could of course be provided if desired. '.T he moment required to pivot the grate can be adjusted by moving the weight 92 along the threaded rod 94,. lf desired, the crosspiece 68 might be of such size and weight that it provides at least a part of the weight required to counterbalance the grate 62, thus minimizing the size required for the weight A conveyor 96, positioned below the discharge opening 52 is provided for conveying the dried flakes or particles to a storage area, or to appropriate packaging apparatus. A similar conveyor system might be also provided for removing any of the product discharged through the opening 56.

in operation, breakfast cereal flakes are formed by using the equipment illustrated in FIG. 1, and the general process outlined hereinbefore. As stated above, the flakes or particles 26 are subjected to a final drying step in the drier 30. Ofttimes the individual flakes tend to stick to each other and form clusters, designated by numeral K00, when they come in contact with each other in the drier 30. As the moisture in the flakes and clusters of flakes is removed, the clusters tend to harden somewhat; as a result, they often do not readily disintegrate or break apart by themselves under normal operating conditions.

The mass of material is conveyed through the drier by 'the movable metallic belt 32, and discharged into the end por- 'tion 34. Most of the flakes 26 pass between the belt 32 and the front edge of the inclinedgrate 62, or between the spacedapart rods 64 if they are deposited on the grate. The clusters of material 100 which are too large to pass between the rods, are retained on the upper surface of the inclined grate, and they slide down the grate toward its back edge. At this point, it should be pointed out that it might be preferred to maintain the grate in a normal horizontal plane, and provide appropriate means for causing the material to move from the front edge to the back edge of the grate, such as appropriate vibratory means for example. By inclining the grate in the manner disclosed, a convenient way is provided for moving the clusters toward its back edge.

As the clusters 100 slide down the inclined grate 62, they are engaged by the fingers 88 of the rotating beater assembly 80, and gently broken up and forced through the spaced-apart rods. The beater 88 is caused to rotate at a fairly low rate of speed, e.g. l0l5 r.p.m., by the motor 84. Clusters which are relatively loosely bound, are readily disintegrated into individual flakes or particles by the beater fingers 88, and

caused to drop through the spaced-apart rods 64. If a cluster 100 does not readily break up, the beater fingers engage it and force it downwardly; the force th'us applied causes the grate 62 to pivot about the shaft 70., The cluster then passes underneath the beater and ultimately slides off the back edge of the grate where it drops into the hopper 54, atwhich point it is conveyed away or otherwise disposed of.

The inclined pivotable grate 62 functions in another manner as well. If the cluster buildup is excessive, so that the weight on the front portion of the grate exceeds a predetermined maximum, as determined by the counterweight assembly 90, the grate will pivot about the shaft 70, thus permitting the oversized cluster to slide underneath the beater. The overweight cluster will then drop off the back edge of the grate in the.

same manner described above. The moment required to pivot. the grate 62 is readily adjusted by moving the counterweight 92 toward or away from the crosspiece 68. I

The brackets 76 and the stop members 78 cooperate to limit the downward movement of the grate 62. If the grate is permitted to pivot too far, the clusters will no longer slide toward the back edge of the grate. Thus, at least a minimum angle of inclination must be maintained. In a like manner, the brackets 74 aid in limiting the upward movement of the front edge of the grate by abutting against the members 78. If the brackets 74 were omitted, the front edge might be too high to permit the clusters to be deposited thereon as they are discharged from the belt 32. v

The above-described apparatus works exceptionally well for collecting particles and clusters of particles having a size above a prescribed maximum, disintegrating at least some of the clusters into individual particles, and removing those clusters which are not readily disintegrated, or which have a weight heavier than a predetermined maximum. The apparatus when used in conjunctionv with equipment for making various kinds of ready-to-eat products, permits the products to be packaged without undesirable clusters or lumps interspersed with the individual pieces. While the invention has been described withgreat respect to the formation of flaked breakfast cereals, it can readily be used for numerous other types of products where clustering or agglomeration is a problem.

ln the above description and attached drawings, a disclosure of the principles of this invention is presented, together with an embodiment by which .the invention might be carried out.

I claim:

spaced apart a sufficient distance to permit particles below a predetermined size to pass therebetwecn, means for pivotally mounting said grate about a horizontal axis relative to said frame, said grate being inclined with respect to a horizontal plane so that its front edge is higher than its back edge, the

pivotal axis being nearer said back edge of the grate than the front edge, and elongate rotatable beater, means for rotatably mounting said beater to said frame above the grate, means for rotating said beater, and means for causing clusters of material deposited proximate the front edge of the grate to move toward the back edge of said grate, whereby at least some of the oversized clusters are disintegrated into individual pieces by the beater when engaged by said beater.

2. An apparatus for collecting particles and clusters of particles from a mass of material and reducing the size of at least some of said clusters comprising a frame member, a grate member formed of a plurality of spacedapart rods and having a front edge and a back edge, the longitudinal axis of each rod extending from the front to the back edge, said rods being spaced apart a sufficient distance to permit particles below a predetermined size to pass there between, means for pivotally mounting said grate intermediate its ends about a horizontal I axis relative to said frame, an elongate rotatable beater, means for rotatably mounting said beater to said frame above the grate, means for rotating said beater, and means for causing clusters of material deposited proximate the front edge of the grate to move toward the back edge of said grate, whereby at least some of the oversized clusters are disintegrated into individual pieces by the beater when engaged by said beater.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein the beater includes an elongate shaft and a plurality of radially extending fingers, said beater being oriented relative to the grate so that its longitudinal axis is normal to the longitudinal axis of the rods, and the radially extending fingers pass between adjacent rods of the grate as the beater is caused to rotate about a horizontal aXlS.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein the grate is inclined relative to a horizontal plane so that itsfront edge is higher than its back edge, the clusters of material being caused to move by sliding down the inclined grate.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein means are provided for limiting the pivotal movement of the grate in both directions.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein counterweight means are provided for maintaining said grate in the inclined position, and means are provided for attaching said counter weight means to the back edge of said grate, said grate being caused to pivot when the weight of the material in front of the pivot point exceeds the weight of said counterweight means thereby permitting clusters of particlesto pass between the beater and said grate.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein the position of said counterweight means is adjustable toward or away from the pivotal axis so that the force required to pivot the grate is variable.

8. Apparatus for collecting particles and clusters of particles from a mass of material and disintegrating at least some of said clusters into individual pieces comprising a frame member, an inclined grate member having a front edge and a back edge, means for mounting said grate to said frame so that it is pivotable about a horizontal axis, said grate member provided with openings for permitting particles below a predetermined size to pass therethrough, beater means positioned above the grate between said front edge and the pivot point for disintegrating at least some of the oversized particles and clusters and forcing them through said openings, and counterweight means operatively connected to the back edge of said grate, said grate being caused to pivot when the weight of the material in front of the pivot point exceeds the weight of said counterweight means thereby permittingclustcrs of material to pass between said beater and said grate.

9. A process for collecting particles and clusters of particles from a mass of material and reducing the size of at least some of the said clusters having a size larger than a prescribed maximum which comprises depositing material containing said particles and clusters onto the front portion of an inclined grate formed of a plurality of elongate, spaced-apart rods,

removing particles having a size below the prescribed maximum size from the mass by permitting them to fall through beater, and removing said oversized clusters from the grate. 

